>> narrator: steve meyers used mf global to trade futures on behalf of scores of farmers and ranchers in the midwest. >> adm does most things... >> many people cleared through mf global because they were the world's largest. so it gives you some comfort in the fact that you're always going to have that liquidity, you're dealing with somebody that's everywhere in the world. >> narrator: but when corzine took over mf global, the firm was in deep trouble. revenue from commissions wasn't covering expenses. the firm was losing money. >> when corzine first came in, the ratings agencies told him, "look, you stepped into a firm that has a lot of problems. so you don't have unlimited time. the ratings on this firm are fairly low for a firm in its business and the bias is to move them lower." and so that put more pressure on corzine than he would have otherwise faced. >> we're transforming from sort of an old-line brokerage firm into an investment bank. >> narrator: corzine set about cutting costs and replacing old-line traders with more aggressive hires from goldman sachs. >> we want to take a